Star Trek Wars
by miss37
Summary: What could happen if Jim Kirk and his crew ended up in the Star Wars galaxy during the time of a New Hope?
1. Chapter 1

Jim Kirk sat in the captain's chair of the Enterprise. He was reading a report about the next planet they would be visiting on their five year mission. However, they would be stopping off at Yorktown for shore leave first. They had been in space almost three years and he wanted to stop at a Federation controlled planet…or space station. Yorktown was definitely not a planet, but the most advanced space station in the whole Federation. He had never actually been there, but he had certainly heard plenty about it and seen it. They would be there in approximately two weeks.

"Captain," Hikaru Sulu said. "There's something…strange…I've never seen these readings before."

Jim stood up and walked over to the helm. "What is it?"

"I don't know."

"On screen."

They looked at the view screen, and could see what looked like a white, swirling cloud at first, but then it seemed to change into a fold. Spock arrived to look at the phenomenon as well. "Peculiar," he said.

"Does that mean you've never seen anything like this either?" Jim asked.

"Yes, Captain."

"Captain," Pavel Chekov said from the navigation station. "There is a strong gravity well…"

Just as he said that, the ship shuddered. "Captain, we're caught in the gravity!" Sulu said.

"Can you break free?" Jim asked.

"No. It's too strong. We're being pulled in!"

Jim flipped on the intercom. "Mister Scott, can you give us more power?" he asked.

Scotty heard Jim's voice echoing in the Engineering department. "No, Captain!" he said. "She's at full power!"

Jim swallowed hard as he wondered where exactly they were going, and what would happen when they got there. Would they be crushed in the gravity?

The ship was accelerating toward the phenomenon. "We're gaining speed, Captain," Sulu said. "Looks like we're in for a wild ride."

Just then, Bones came onto the Bridge. He stared out the view screen. "What is that?" he asked.

"We don't know," Jim said. "But I think we're about to find out."

Bones and Spock stood on each side of Jim as they were pulled into the white, swirling phenomenon. It was definitely a rough ride, and they were all on the floor by the time it was over. Jim shook his head as he looked up at the ceiling of the Bridge. He suddenly remembered what happened and tried to jump to his feet, but his head did not agree with that. He felt incredibly dizzy and almost fell backward again but he managed to stay on his feet, but fell to his knees by the time he got over to the helm where Sulu was slumped in his chair, and lying over on the console.

"Sulu!" Jim said and shook his shoulder. "Sulu! Come on, wake up!"

Sulu grimaced as he started to wake up. He opened his eyes and had the same problem Jim had with dizziness. "What happened?" he asked.

"I don't know." Jim leaned on the console a moment trying to overcome the dizziness and nausea that was starting to accompany it. "Can you tell where we are?"

Sulu closed his eyes a moment and then pressed buttons on the console. "Captain…" He shook his head slightly. "This can't be right." He rubbed his eyes. "What's wrong with my head?"

"I don't know," Jim said. "What do the readings say?"

"Sir, we're…not even in our own galaxy anymore."

Jim scowled at that, still fighting the nausea. "What do you mean?"

"I don't know, but we're not in our own galaxy. It's…this is far away from where we were with that…thing."

"How far?"

"I don't know, Sir. Very far."

"I have to get Bones up."

Jim crawled over to Bones who was still lying unconscious. "Bones!" Jim shook him. "Bones, wake up!" Jim rubbed his own eyes as he felt like the room was spinning. "Bones!" He also shook Spock. "Spock, wake up!"

Bones started to move. "Come on, Bones," Jim said.

"Leave me alone," Bones replied, feeling like he was dreaming.

"Bones, you have to wake up." Jim was on his hands and knees, and he sank to the floor, hoping his head would stop spinning. "Bones."

Bones finally opened his eyes. He was bombarded by dizziness as well. "Jim, what…" He noticed that Jim was lying on the floor on his stomach. "Jim?" Bones sat up and almost fell sideways. His stomach definitely protested that! He felt its contents trying to come up his throat, but he swallowed it back down. He thought he should be an expert at resisting puking by now. He definitely had a queasy stomach. How could he help anyone like this?

Spock started to move next. He had never experienced dizziness such as this before. He noticed that Doctor McCoy was trying to get up. "Doctor, what is happening?" he asked.

"I don't know," Bones said. He touched Jim's neck. "I guess he's having the same problem we are." He held his head with his hands. "Spock, I can't take this."

"We must help the crew, Doctor," Spock said as he tried to get up himself. "I've never experienced this sensation."

"Lucky you. I don't think I can stand up."

"Then we will crawl. We must get a medical tricorder so that we can find out what is causing this."

"Where are we?"

"I do not know. Right now, we must help the crew."

Bones followed Spock as he crawled to the turbo lift. "Spock, how can we stand moving in this thing?" Bones asked as he sat up in the back of the lift.

"We will do what we must," Spock said. He pressed the button for the medical bay.

Bones almost wanted to whimper as they started moving. He closed his eyes and sat against the back of the lift so that he would at least feel like something was holding him up.

Spock was holding onto the side of the lift himself, and he was greatly relieved when it stopped. The door opened and they crawled out, and made it to the medical bay. Bones pulled himself up to the medical equipment counter and managed to get the tricorder. He sat there a moment as Spock sat down beside him. "I don't know if I can read it," Bones said.

"Concentrate, Doctor," Spock replied. "You must."

Bones nodded. He scanned Spock with the tricorder and looked at the reading. "This doesn't make any sense," he said.

"What is it?" Spock asked.

Bone managed to get a hypospray and snapped a tube of medicine into it. He dialed up the right amount and gave it to Spock. Then he gave himself some. They both slumped against the cabinets as they were sitting in the floor, and felt like the ship finally stopped spinning. Bones then got over to the waste disposal and threw up until he felt like he would throw up his insides.

Spock stood up and tried to compose himself. "We must help the captain and the others," he said.

Bones leaned on the counter trying to get his stomach to realize that they were no longer spinning. "I know," he replied. "We went through that…thing. What was that?"

"I believe we have experienced a rift."

Bones grabbed the hypospray and tricorder and hurried back to the turbo lift, and Spock was with him. They went back to the Bridge, where they found Jim halfway to the turbo lift. Bones knelt beside him. "Take it easy," he said and scanned Jim. "This should help." He gave him the hypospray.

Jim relaxed and almost wanted to just go to sleep. "What happened?" he asked.

"I was hoping you knew. For some reason, the gravity well isn't the same, and it's affecting our equilibrium."

Jim nodded as he sat up. "Sulu said we're not in our own galaxy anymore," he said.

"How can that be?" Spock asked.

"I don't know, but it is. Bones, help the rest of the crew."

"Yeah, I'm getting on it."

"Sulu first."

Bones gave Sulu a hypospray, and he was soon sitting up wondering if the readings were correct. Jim came over to him. "What do we do?" Jim asked.

Sulu shook his head. "We're lost, Captain," he said.

Jim stood up and looked at the view screen. He could see a lot of stars. "Can we use warp?" he asked. "Are you detecting any planets?"

"Yes, Captain. There are several on the long range scanners."

"Any ships?"

"They definitely have space travel. Warp trails everywhere…but they're different."

Spock was listening as well. "What do you suggest, Captain?" he asked.

Jim shook his head. "I don't know," he said. "Should we just go to a planet? Find out where we are?"

"How would we do that?"

"Walk in and ask?" Jim looked at Spock. "We're not even in our own galaxy anymore."

"But it appears that we are in the presence of space-faring people."

"Yeah. At least we don't have to worry about that."

Sulu brought up a schematic of what the computer had downloaded. "It seems they have a map, Sir," he said. "They have a network of information. I have a full map of this galaxy."

"On screen," Jim said.

They looked at the map, and Bones walked up beside them to look as well. "A vast number of planets, Captain," Chekov said as he was now up. "We seem to be closest to this one." He brought the planet up on the view screen. "It has two suns, but it is inhabited. It's a desert world."

"Two suns?" Jim asked. "How can they live on a world like that?"

"Since we are explorers, I suppose we could go down and see," Spock replied.

"Go down there?" Bones asked. "How do you know what kind of people live on a world like that?"

"Bones, we've been to strange worlds before," Jim reminded him.

"Yeah, and we always end up being chased by murder-crazed madmen who want to spill our blood all over the ground too."

"Take us to that planet, Mister Sulu. What is it called?"

"Tatooine?" Sulu shrugged slightly. "Tatooine."

As they neared the planet, they could see ships leaving the planet and going down to it as well. "Do they have security around the planet?" Jim asked.

"Nothing that I can see, Captain," Sulu replied. "Looks like everyone can come and go as they please. Amazing."

"Maybe they're not worried about attacks."

"Who attacks a desert world?" Bones asked. "They must not have anything worth taking."

"What do they wear down there?"

"Maybe they all wear bikinis."

"Bones."

"I would imagine that they would wear loose-fitting clothing," Spock said.

"The atmosphere is basically like ours," Chekov pointed out. "Maybe slightly more oxygen, but that will not be a problem."

Jim just stood there a moment looking at the sand-colored planet in the view screen. He figured it was probably all sand. "I suggest we wear something that keeps sand out," Bones declared. "Can you imagine? We'll have sand in places that it shouldn't even be able to get into."

"I guess we should try to look as inconspicuous as possible," Jim said.

"You? Inconspicuous? That'll be the day."

"Well, I'll try to be inconspicuous."

As they prepared to go down to the planet, Sulu and Chekov studied more about it, and sent the information to Jim. He got into an outfit that Bones had gotten from the supplies deck, where costumes could be produced by machines, almost like printers. All they had to do was enter the sizes and the type of clothing they needed, even shoes.

Jim had never seen clothing quite like what he had now. A loose tunic with a sash that tied around the waist, and trousers, plus boots that would definitely keep sand out as they had no seams. His tunic was light blue. He was just glad it was not gold like ALL of his Starfleet uniform shirts. The pants were gray as well as the boots. He read the information that he had about the planet. It seemed that there was a vast number of different species on this planet. He supposed Spock would not have to worry about his ears, which he was glad of.

As Jim was on his way to the transporter room, he met up with Spock in the corridor, and he was also dressed in similar clothing as Jim, only his tunic was beige, and the pants and boots were brown. "Captain, I have a suggestion," Spock said.

"Go ahead," Jim replied.

"It is obvious that this civilization does not have transporter capabilities. Perhaps we should take a shuttle down to the surface."

Jim stopped and thought about that. "They seem to be technologically advanced…maybe even more than we are. How could they not have transporters?"

"As you know, we are in another galaxy. Perhaps this gravity well and atmosphere are not suitable for transporter activity."

"So you're saying that our transporters may not work anyway."

"Yes, Captain."

"And they might find it weird if someone appeared in a swirl of light?"

"That is possible."

"Alright. Have them get us a shuttle ready."

Spock nodded and headed for the shuttle bay. Bones came into the corridor next. He was also wearing the same type of clothing, but he was also wearing a poncho-like drape over his tunic, which was reddish in color, and the poncho was brown, as were the trousers and boots. "I don't think they have much color choice on this planet," he said.

"I just hope we can find someone to help us," Jim replied. "The rift is gone."

"We could be stuck here, Jim. What kind of medical treatments do they have here?"

"Maybe we'll find all that out. By the way, we're going in a shuttle. They don't even have transporter capabilities."

"With all that technology?"

"Yeah. Weird, right?"

"They must have a hard time changing from one ship to another in space."

"I guess they have docking tubes or something."

"What if we can't find anyone to help us here?"

"I guess we move on to another planet."

Jim and Bones went on to the shuttle bay where Spock was waiting. "The shuttle is ready, Captain," he said.

"Well, let's get going then," Jim replied. "Who are we supposed to contact to land down there? Do we just land wherever we find a free spot?"

"I am not certain."

"There must be some sort of order to all this."

They went into the shuttle and Jim sat down in the pilot's seat. "We're ready for launch, Mister Sulu," he said over the intercom.

"Stand by, Captain," Sulu replied.

Soon, they were outside the ship and they could see the planet clearer now. "I've never seen anything like this," Bones said. "Look at all those ships? Does everyone have their own ship?"

"Maybe they do," Jim replied.

"I'd hate to know I was stuck on this planet with no way off."

"Relax, will ya?"

"Relax. How do I do that? We're headed for a really unknown planet, in a galaxy we've never even been to, don't even know the name of it, and you're telling me to relax?"

"Bones. We can't just sit in the ship and do nothing."

They descended into the atmosphere of the planet and could definitely see that it was nothing but sand dunes and small places of abode. "I guess we should go to that town there," Jim said. "Mos Eisley Spaceport? If it's a spaceport, how do they have no one telling you where to land?"

"Maybe there are no regulations on this planet," Bones replied.

"Maybe there's not, which means we better be careful."

Once they were down on the outside of the town, Jim strapped on a blaster. Bones and Spock did the same thing. "Why do I get the feeling we're going into the most dangerous situation we've ever been in?" Bones asked.

"Let's just try to have a little optimism," Jim said.

"Any time we are on a strange world, we can expect danger," Spock put in. "I believe that would be doubled in this situation since we are also in a strange galaxy."

"Right."

Jim opened the boarding ramp and was surprised at the wave of heat that came through the opening. They stood and looked out into the brightness for a moment, wondering if they really wanted to go out there. "Maybe we should have shades or something," Bones declared. He went back into the shuttle and grabbed three pairs of shaded goggles from the storage compartment.

They put the shades on. "I have to say that's better," Jim said. "You think everyone around here wears something like this?"

"Let's hope," Bones replied.

They walked out into the bright sunlight and Spock locked the ship. They could definitely tell there were two suns. "How does anyone live on this sand ball?" Bones asked. "This is as bad as the Sahara."

"Or worse," Jim replied. "This is the whole planet."

"Why would anyone be living on this?"

"That's a good question."

They walked on and could see that there was a lot of activity in the "town", if one would call it a town. It was made up of stone buildings that looked like they had seen plenty of wear and tear from the sand blowing around, and they had been worn smooth over time.

As they walked on into the town, there were beings of all sorts going about their business, and animals as well. "It is safe to say that there is no prejudice about different species," Spock said.

"That's one good thing," Jim replied.

They walked on and just as they were passing by an alleyway, they almost ran into a giant, fur covered being, who was all of 8 feet tall. Jim looked up at him in amazement and a little bit of horror, as the being roared at him. "Excuse me," Jim said quickly. "I wasn't watching where I was going."

The being roared a bit quieter and seemed to say something, but then he walked on. Jim just stood there a moment. "I think I just saw my life flash before my eyes," he said.

"What was that?" Bones asked.

"I don't know, but I don't want to meet up with it in a dark alley."

"Captain, the being may simply be a different species which would have no hostility toward us if it knew us," Spock said."

"Right. Let's get going."

They walked on and Jim took a deep breath. As he looked around them, he had a horrible feeling of hopelessness. How could they expect to find help here? He did not want Spock and Bones to know how afraid he was. What if they could never find a way out of this galaxy and back to their own?

Jim stopped and leaned back against the wall of one of the buildings as he was starting to feel a little dizzy. "Jim, are you alright?" Bones asked. He grabbed his medical kit and did a scan. He looked at Jim. "Hey. You can't get all panicky on us."

"I'm not panicking," Jim said.

"Yes you are. You're the captain. You have to hold it together. I'll do the panicking."

Jim took the goggles off and rubbed his eyes. "Captain, we must not give up hope," Spock said.

Jim wanted to say that he was not giving up hope, but he did not know what to do. He felt like there was a large weight on his shoulders. He was responsible for his crew…and they were lost in a strange galaxy.

Bones took out a hypospray. "This'll help you calm down," he said.

Jim grabbed his wrist. "No! You don't know what it's like to be the captain of a ship full of people. I can't just take something to make my anxieties go away. We're lost, Bones!"

"You can't function like this, and think straight."

"I'm fine."

"Sure you are."

Jim took a deep breath and blew it out as he looked down the sandy street they were on. "There has to be something here."

They could hear strange music playing somewhere, so they thought maybe that was in a bar or something. "I guess we should find that place," Jim said. "Maybe we can find some information in there."

"Or trouble," Bones replied as he was putting his hypospray away. He thought Jim should have let him give him something, but he would not force it…unless it got worse. He was not sure he had ever seen Jim like that, with so much anxiety.

Spock remained calm, but he was not sure what actions they should take either. However, if they were stuck in this galaxy, he would simply adapt.


	2. Chapter 2

Jim, Spock, and Bones entered the cantina, and it was definitely where they had been hearing the music. There was a band of beings like none they had ever seen, and the place seemed to be full of all sorts of different species. "Jim, we are in so much trouble," Bones said.

"Let's try to act…confident," Jim replied.

Bones was not sure he could do that. They walked on into the cantina, and they had a lot of eyes of all sorts of shapes, sizes, and colors on them. However, they were not the only humans in the place. "Well, who should we talk to?" Bones asked.

"Take your pick," Jim replied.

"I think I want to talk to someone who looks normal."

"What is normal?"

"Well, I don't know, but that guy we met out there on the street sure didn't look normal."

"Doctor, that is a derogatory comment," Spock said. "He is simply what he is, and that is all."

"Sure, but just exactly what is that?"

"Perhaps we will find out soon."

Jim and Bones looked where Spock was looking, and saw that the tall, furry being was seated at a table with a guy who looked like he simply blended into whatever background or situation he was in…but across the table was an old man and a young man who looked like they would belong anywhere but in that bar.

"Should we walk over there and interrupt their conversation?" Bones asked.

"How else can we get anyone to help us?" Jim asked.

"Perhaps we should wait while you go over first," Spock suggested. "Then if there's trouble, we can help." He pointed to another situation going on in the bar, where two beings were being taken out, one with only a stub of an arm left. "It seems that there has already been a fight in this bar, and a particularly bloody one."

"Okay. I'll go over there, but you know how bad I am at negotiating."

Jim walked over to the table where the four beings were seated and cleared his throat. The guy who was sitting beside the furry guy looked at him as though he were interrupting a galactic peace conference. "Get lost," the guy said.

"I was wondering if you guys could help us," Jim said anyway.

The guy at the table stood up. "I said get lost. We don't help pilferers in here."

"I'm not a vagrant, and I'm not asking for that kind of help."

"Then get lost. This is a private conversation."

The furry guy stood up and roared at Jim, who backed up a step. "I didn't mean any harm," he said.

"Please, let's try and stay calm and not draw any attention to ourselves," the old man at the table suggested. He looked at Jim.

Jim felt like the old man's blue eyes could see right through him. "Why don't you join us?" the old man asked.

"Now wait a minute," the other guy said, who seemed to have a chip on his shoulder toward everyone. "How many more are we getting involved in this?"

"Will you accept our offer…or not?"

"Seventeen, right?"

The old man nodded only slightly. "Alright, you got yourself a ship," the other said. He looked toward the bar. "Looks like someone's beginning to take an interest in your handy work."

Jim looked around and saw three people dressed in white armor, head and all. "Come with us," the old man said to Jim. "And get your friends as well."

Jim just stared at him a moment, but somehow, he knew he could trust this old man. He motioned for Bones and Spock to come with him, and they followed the old man and the young man out of the cantina in a different direction than they came in.

"Where are we going?" Bones asked.

"I don't know," Jim said. "But I don't see that we have any better opportunities."

"Who are they?"

"I don't know."

Bones looked at Spock, who looked rather puzzled himself, if a Vulcan could look puzzled. "We're running out after some beings that we don't even know," Bones said. "How do you know we can trust them?"

"I just know, Bones," Jim replied.

They picked up two droids as they were on their way. One was a golden droid who looked remarkably like a human and looked and talked like the most nervous being in the universe. The other was a squat, round droid that was blue and white, and rolled on three wheels.

They hurried away from the cantina and went out into another part of the spaceport, where the old man was making a deal with someone to sell a speeder. "It'll be enough," he heard the old man say to the younger.

"Where exactly are we going?" Jim asked.

"We have to deliver these droids to Alderaan," the old man said with an English accent. "It's of vital importance."

"Who are you?"

"I am Ben Kenobi, and this is Luke Skywalker."

"I'm Jim Kirk. We're…"

"I know. You're lost. Help us, and we will do our best to help you."

"H-how do you know we're lost?"

"The Force reveals many things."

"The Force?"

"There's no time to explain right now. We must move quickly. They're coming."

"Who's coming?"

Jim wondered what they were getting into now. They had joined themselves to this bunch of people, and they might be heading for trouble. He could see the concern on Bones' face. He grabbed his communicator as it whistled. "Kirk here."

"Captain, there are two large ships out here," Sulu said. "I've never seen anything like them. They're shaped like…triangles. They're huge."

Ben Kenobi looked at Jim with a worried look, and realization. "Are they attacking?" Jim asked.

"No," Sulu said.

"Listen, I want you to transport the shuttle back to the ship if the transporter will work, and it should. Follow us."

"What?"

"We're about to be heading somewhere called Alderaan."

"Alderaan? I thought we were in a different galaxy."

"Yeah, well they have an Alderaan too."

"You're not going in the shuttle?"

"I don't think so."

Jim, Bones, and Spock followed their new companions into a hangar. There was only one ship in there…if one would call it a ship. Jim had never seen anything like it. It was saucer-shaped and looked like it had plenty of work done on it. They met the pilot at the ship.

"What a piece of junk," Luke Skywalker said.

The pilot began bragging on his "piece of junk" as Jim looked at Bones. "Are we really getting into that thing?" Bones asked. "It looks like a reject from a junk yard."

"Bones," Jim said. "You never know. It might be a good ship."

"Are you kidding? Only a guy like you would say that."

"Captain, it is questionable," Spock said. "Do you believe this contraption is capable of space travel?"

"Well, how do you think they got here, Spock?" Jim asked.

"Let's move it!" the pilot said. "All passengers aboard!"

Jim, Bones, and Spock started moving toward the boarding ramp, and suddenly, they heard someone behind them yell, "There he is! Hold it!"

Jim looked around and saw some more of those guys dressed in armor. He hurried toward the boarding ramp and got up into the ship, and the pilot was coming that way too. "Chewie, get us out of here!" he yelled.

Jim felt the engines of the ship starting to fire as the boarding ramp was closing and sealing. They were in the ship now, and they were about to be moving. He was surprised at the power of the ship as it began lifting and then the pilot gunned it. Jim, Bones, and Spock fell backward as they knew they were heading out to space. They got up and headed toward the front of the ship, and could see the ships Sulu had described.

Jim grabbed his communicator. "Sulu, can you see us?"

"Don't tell me you're in that hunk of junk that just left the atmosphere," Scotty said.

"Yes, that would be us, Mister Scott. Follow us."

"Captain, there are two of those…whatever they are, out there."

"They're Star Destroyers!" the pilot of the hunk of junk said. "And we're gonna outrun 'em! Where have you guys been? Living under a rock? How could you not know what Star Destroyers are?"

"How long till you can make the jump to light speed?" Ben Kenobi asked.

 _Light speed?_ Jim thought to himself. "We're going to light speed, Scotty," Jim said.

"What?" Scotty asked.

"Just track us, will ya?"

"Yes sir."

"Plot a course for Alderaan. You should be able to find it."

"Getting on that now, Captain. I guess we'll see you there."

"Right."

"Strap yourselves in!" the pilot said. "I'm about to make the jump to lightspeed!"

Jim and the others followed Ben and Luke to the other room and they all sat down and strapped in. They knew when the ship blasted off because they were pressed against their seats for a few seconds.

Jim relaxed a moment, and then looked at Ben and Luke. "You mind telling us what's going on?" Jim asked. "How did we get into this?"

"I'm afraid I brought you along in case our other pilot didn't work out," Kenobi said.

"How do you know I'm a pilot?"

"Oh, it's obvious. Captain, I suppose?"

"Yeah. My ship is going to meet us there. How do you know that?"

"The Force can reveal many things."

"What is the Force?" Spock asked.

Just then, the pilot came in. "Well, I told you I'd outrun 'em," he declared with pride. "Anyway, we should be coming up on Alderaan in about four days."

"Four days?" Bones asked. "You mean we've gotta stay in this sardine can for four days?"

The hairy guy growled at that, and the pilot glared at him. "I'll have you know, this is not a sardine can," he said. "And you better lighten up, or Chewie there will be compelled to pull your arm out of the socket."

Bones frowned. "Are you threatening me?"

"Bones, take it easy," Jim said. "We're guests, you know."

"Captain, may I remind you that interfering in this situation will be a violation of the Prime Directive," Spock said.

"Don't bring that up. We're not even in the right galaxy, so let's just drop it. There's no way we can get out of this, so we might as well help if we can."

Jim looked at Ben again. "Tell us what's going on," he said. "Maybe we can help."

"We're on our way to Alderaan to deliver these droids to Bail Organa so that they can be analyzed to find a weakness in a catastrophic weapon owned by the Empire," Ben replied.

"Catastrophic weapon?"

"Yes. It is called the Death Star, and for good reason. There are rumors that it can destroy a whole planet."

Jim frowned, and Spock went rigid. "The whole planet?" Spock asked.

"Yes. I have not seen what it can do as of yet."

"Does it create a black hole?"

Jim looked at Spock. He remembered the look on Spock's face when he stood on the transporter pad as his planet was consuming in on itself…and taking his mother with it. He had been reaching for her. That was why it had been so hard for him to follow the orders of the older Spock to emotionally compromise him.

"To my knowledge, it simply causes the planet to explode," Ben said.

"And what is the Empire?" Jim asked.

"It is the governing entity in this galaxy. At one time it was good…until Vader came along. He and the Emperor are the picture of evil. The rebels fight against them, hoping that they can find some way to defeat them, but Vader wields the dark side of the Force."

"What is the Force?"

"It is an energy field that surrounds us all. It is how I knew you were lost. Your aura is different, but you have a strong mind, and a strong will." Ben looked at Spock. "You have a very strong mind. Telepathic even."

"I can communicate telepathically," Spock replied. "So, we're in the middle of a civil war."

"You might call it that, but it extends across this entire galaxy. The Empire has grown too large and is controlled by the dark side."

"The dark side?" Jim asked.

"Yes. As there is good and evil in everything, so it is with the Force. I use the light side of the force, and our young friend here can also use the Force once he learns how. We only use it for knowledge and defense, never to attack. Vader turned to the dark side many years ago, and he has become very powerful. Even the chosen one fell to its seduction."

"How do you use the Force?"

"We're born with the ability, but it has to be taught and nourished."

Ben stood up and took out a small sphere shaped object that looked like a ball, but it was clearly made of metal and had small holes in it. "Luke, I'm going to teach you how to use the Force for defense," he said. "We have time so that you will know how to feel it."

Luke stood up. "Okay, so what do I do?"

Jim thought Luke looked very young, probably no more than eighteen. He had shaggy blond hair and light blue eyes. Of course, he was well tanned after living on Tatooine for…how long? Jim had no idea how long Luke or Ben had been on that planet. They were here with a bunch of strangers, and one of them was a giant, hairy beast…but he was intelligent. They had just fallen in with these beings, and once they got to the ship, they had not had a choice but to go along with them, especially when the shooting started.

Jim, Bones, and Spock watched as Ben told Luke what to do to feel the Force. The small sphere suddenly shot into the air and fired a small electric charge at Luke, hitting him right in the butt.

Bones stood up. "Hey!"

Ben looked at Bones and waved one finger slightly. "Be seated," he said quietly.

"I think I'll be seated."

Bones sat back down, and Spock looked at Ben Kenobi curiously as he continued to instruct his student. Spock took a deep breath and closed his eyes as he listened and reached out with his own feelings. He felt as though he heard a sudden swoosh and then his perception was suddenly much clearer as though there were a bright energy around everyone in the ship…especially…

Spock opened his eyes and saw that Kenobi was looking right at him. "Now you know what I tell you is true," Kenobi said.

Jim scowled at that and looked at Spock, who nodded. "What do you mean?" Jim asked.

Spock looked at him. "It is true, Captain."

They saw Luke Skywalker take another zap, this time to his arm, which brought a laugh from their arrogant pilot. Jim had not even heard the guy's name yet, but he could tell by his demeanor that he was much more than he let on. He pretended not to care, but deep down, he did. He pretended not to believe in anything but himself.

"I suggest you try it again," Kenobi said as he placed a helmet with a blast shield on it onto Luke's head.

"How can I fight with the blast shield down?" Luke asked.

"Your eyes can deceive you, don't trust them. Stretch out with your feelings."

Jim watched as Luke seemed to relax and steady his breathing, and when the remote fired at him, he blocked both shots. "Did you see that?" Bones asked.

"Yeah," Jim replied. "That wasn't just luck."

"Jim, what are we doing in this? What are we gonna do?"

"Until we can get back to our own galaxy, we have to stay here. At least with them, we know what's going on. Wouldn't you rather know what's going on?"

"You are correct, Captain," Spock said. "As long as we are here, we should be with those who know what is happening, and will most likely be the only ones who will help us get back home."

"How did that rift open like that?"

"I am not certain, nor am I certain how it pulled us in."

"It definitely wasn't anything I have ever seen."

"Captain, are we going to get involved in this war?"

"I'd like to know the answer to that," Bones declared. "I know you can't leave anything alone once you know about it though. I just hope they don't have some weird diseases that we've never heard of."

Jim looked at him. "Bones. They all look pretty normal to me."

"Yeah, but Jim. We're in a totally different galaxy. You didn't forget how it affected us when we first got here, I hope."

"No, I haven't. How could I forget that?"

"How do we know how it's going to affect us if we end up on another planet? How do we know how the air is going to be?"

"Bones. We're with human beings. We'll just do what they do."

"That's not even an answer I would expect from Spock."

"You got any ideas on how to get home?"

"No."

"The logical thing to do is stay with our new found friends while we try and figure out a way to escape this galaxy," Spock said.

"Other than trying to travel all the way back," Bones added. "Do we even know how far it is?"

"Very far," Jim replied. "We'd never make it. We have to figure out what caused that rift and see if it can be repeated."

The pilot came back into the galley the next morning. Jim was sleeping on a bunk that was attached to the wall. He shifted as he was not used to someone walking through when he was sleeping. He listened as the pilot and the hairy creature talked.

"Chewie, once we get them to Alderaan and get paid, we'll get that stuff to Jabba, and then maybe I can get back to smuggling and making some real cash," the pilot said. The being grunted something at him. "I'm not worried about the others. They can go along with the old man and the boy." More grunting. "It doesn't matter. That's not our problem. I'm only in this for the money."

Jim heard the pilot walk on through the ship. He had heard the uncertainty in his voice. How could someone not care about the galaxy they lived in? Did he think he could escape whatever happened? No. He had to care, but wanted to pretend that he did not. Jim even cared, and he was not from this galaxy. He looked at Spock who was sleeping on another bunk across from him. He supposed he should not be surprised that Spock could feel something out unknown to someone else.

Jim soon got up and walked up to the front of the ship where the pilot sat in his seat. He was rather startled when Jim came in. "Morning," Jim said. "I assume we're still on course." He sat down in the co-pilot's seat, which seemed oversized, but seeing the co-pilot, he knew why.

"Of course we're still on course," the pilot answered in his cocky way. "You got a ship of your own?"

"I do. The Enterprise. It actually belongs to the Federation, but I'm the captain."

"Oh. So you captain it for someone else."

Jim folded his arms. "You might say that, but it's still my ship."

"Not really. You don't have anything of your own that you can play with and make adjustments."

"I'm not a tinker. I do have an engineer who likes to tinker though, and I have several others who keep the ship going."

"You're happy with that?"

"Yeah. Most of the time. So you just don't really care what happens to your galaxy?"

Jim looked at the pilot who sat up now and glared at him. "What I care about is myself and my ship," he said.

"Wouldn't do you much good if there was nowhere to travel to in the galaxy, would it?"

"I don't have to answer to you. The Empire doesn't bother me, I don't bother them. It's that simple."

"Yeah. It's a selfish way to look at it. What about all the people who suffer their planet being destroyed because they won't submit? You ever think of that? What's your name anyway?"

"Han Solo."

"Jim Kirk."

"And you're the captain of a star ship. What's the Federation?"

"It's a peace keeping armada, exploration. We try to bring peace between species sometimes, and some of them want nothing to do with it."

"They'd rather fight, huh?"

"I guess."

"Sometimes fighting is the only course of action."

"I know that, but not always."

"Can't make peace with some people."

"That's true, but we'll be trying."

Jim was silent a moment. "So, what is Alderaan like?" he asked.

"Well, if there's a peaceful center to the galaxy, I'd say Alderaan is it," Han replied. "But they're rather foolish for not having any defenses, if you ask me. Especially with the Empire wielding a weapon like the Death Star."

"They don't have any defenses?"

Han shook his head. "I guess they think they're so close to Coruscant that they don't have to defend themselves."

"Coruscant?"

"The Capitol, for lack of a better term. It's where the government is."

"The Empire?"

"Yep."

"And we're going that close to it?"

"Yep. That's usually how the Rebellion likes to do things…right under the Emperor's nose. Looks like they'd regroup somewhere on some isolated planet and get ready for a fight, but seeing as how we're on our way to the planet with no defenses, I guess they think hiding in the wide open and acting all peaceful, they can fool the Empire, but I don't agree."

"Is that why you don't join them?"

"I'm no fool. They'll never win."

"I don't know. Determined people sometimes accomplish things that look impossible, even if they're few in number."

"Whatever. I intend to take that reward and get rid of this debt, and be on my way again."

"Do you know anything about spacial rifts?"

"Not a thing."

"That's how we got here. I don't know how we'll ever get back to our galaxy."

"And what galaxy is that?"

"The Milky Way."

"The Milky Way? Why is it called that?"

"I guess because people long ago could stand outside in the dark and it looked like it was flowing through the sky with white stars."

"Things were much simpler long ago."

"I used to think I didn't care about anyone but myself, and then I realized that wasn't the way I wanted to be."

Solo did not say anything. He just made a course adjustment and then stood up. "Well, it's been nice talking to ya."

Jim just sat there watching the swirl of space as they were traveling. He wondered what they were facing when they arrived at Alderaan, but if what Solo said was true, maybe it would be like a little shore leave.


	3. Chapter 3

The fourth day finally arrived, and the Millennium Falcon was coming up on Alderaan. They were all in the front of the ship to see when they dropped out of…hyperspace. Jim had learned some new terms. Things here were not called the same as in their own galaxy. Coffee here was Coffeine or caf. And the shower was a "fresher". He supposed maybe that was a good name for it. Bones had pointed out everything that could possibly be harboring some deadly virus that they had never seen, and they would have absolutely no immunity to it because it was from a totally different galaxy. Jim had thought he was going to have to order Bones to sit and not say a word. He had clashed with the Wookiee more than once. They had finally found out that Chewbacca was a Wookiee, who was from the planet Kashyyk, and they had also found out that Han Solo was from the planet Corellia. Luke had grown up on Tatooine living with his Aunt and Uncle, and Obi-Wan Kenobi, now called Ben, had lived there as well. Jim thought four days gave enough time for people to know a lot of information about each other. There had also been a time during their traveling that Ben had suddenly "felt" something terrible in the Force. That had been that morning.

"We're coming up on Alderaan," Solo said.

Jim watched the counter as it ran down to zero, and then the starlines became stars once again. Suddenly, they were being hit by what looked like asteroids. Jim wondered where the Enterprise was. Did it come out in this asteroid field? He grabbed his communicator as they were being shaken by the asteroids, but then he heard the conversation that was going on between Kenobi and Solo. _Blown away?_

"You mean that Death Star destroyed this planet?" Jim asked. "You mean…"

"Alderaan has been destroyed," Kenobi said with certainty. He knew what he had felt in the Force.

Spock stood rigid as they looked at what used to be a beautiful planet full of people, and could see the debris, including…bodies. He turned and walked out of the cockpit. Bones and Jim watched Spock but they stayed where they were.

Just then, they were hit by laser fire. "It's a Tie Fighter!" Skywalker said.

Jim looked at the ship which simply looked like a ball with two solar panels on each side of it. He opened his communicator. "Enterprise!" he said. "Do you read me?"

"We read you, Captain," Scotty replied.

"Scotty, where are you?"

"We almost got crushed by an asteroid field. Where's the planet?"

Jim swallowed hard. "It's been destroyed, Scotty. That asteroid field was the planet."

There was a long moment of silence on the communicator. "We're hiding behind a small moon, Captain," Scotty said. "We detected a large…"

"That's a space station!" Kenobi said.

Jim looked out the viewscreen and could see a round object that looked like a moon, but as he kept looking, he could see that there were metal objects on the surface. "How can that be…"

He did not have time to finish his question because the ship suddenly shuddered as it was caught in a powerful tractor beam. "Jim!" Bones exclaimed. "We're being pulled into that thing!"

"Scotty, can you beam us off this ship?" Jim asked.

Scotty replied but there was a lot of interference. "They won't get me without a fight!" Solo was saying.

"You can't win," Kenobi replied. "But there are alternatives to fighting."

"Like what?" Jim asked.

"This is a smuggler's ship. Does it not have spaces to hide contraband?"

"Of course, but…" Solo began. But he realized what the old man was suggesting. "You think that'll work?"

"It has to."

They all hurried to the back of ship, and Solo and Chewie removed panels that seemed to be seamless parts of the floor. "Get in there," Solo said.

They all climbed down into the storage compartments, and the panels were pulled back over them. It was not a large compartment, so there was standing room for them.

Scotty and the others on the Enterprise saw the Falcon as it was pulled into the Death Star. "What can we do?" Sulu asked.

"I don't think we can do anything against a weapon that can destroy a planet," Scotty answered. "All I know to do is wait to hear from the captain."

"That thing sure throws out a lot of interference, but I don't think they've detected us."

"Let's keep minimal systems going so we won't be so detectable, and be ready to throw her into full power when we need her."

"Yes sir."

Jim and the others in the compartment knew when the Falcon was placed on the deck in the Death Star. They also heard when the boarding ramp was forced down. "What do we do now?" Solo asked. "If they bring scanners onto this ship, they'll detect us."

"Then we shall have to make a plan," Kenobi replied.

They could hear talking above them and footsteps, and then silence. "Let's get out of here and get ready for them," Solo suggested.

They removed the panels and climbed out. "Are we actually going out into this thing?" Bones asked. "That's insane. They'll surely know we're there."

"I have to agree with him," Solo said. "How do you think we can do anything without them detecting it?"

"I will disable the tractor beam, and we will escape in the ship…" Kenobi suddenly stared as though he were listening to something. "We must hurry." He knew he would be detected, but the others would not.

"They're gonna be coming back in here," Solo said. "We have to have a plan."

Jim set his blaster to "kill". "So, let's make one," he replied. "We can jump them when they come in. No one can tell who's in that armor, right?"

"I guess not."

"Then take their armor and use it."

"Then what?"

"We jump in feet first and fight our way out," Bones declared. "That's what."

"We'll use the droid to analyze the Death Star so that I can know where the controls for the tractor beam are," Kenobi said. "Once I have that tractor beam down, you'll be able to get the ship out of here."

"What about you?" Luke asked.

"We'll talk about that later. Right now, get ready."

They all hid and soon heard booted feet coming up the boarding ramp. The stormtroopers were carrying heavy scanning equipment in a large box, so when they got into the tight quarters of the Falcon, Solo and the others had no problems incapacitating them.

"We best hurry," Kenobi said.

Han and Luke stripped the armor off the two troopers and got into it themselves. Solo hung his own blaster up at the front of the ship, and then Luke heard someone talking over the intercom in his helmet.

"Pretend you have a bad transmitter!" Han whispered. "Get out there where they can see you and won't be suspicious!"

Luke went out onto the boarding ramp and looked up where the control room was. He pointed to his helmet and shrugged as though he could not speak to them. "I think they fell for it," he said to the others.

"Let's get outa here while they're distracted," Solo said to everyone.

They all hurried off the Falcon and ran into one of the control rooms, taking care of the controller who was on his way to investigate the bad transmitter. Kenobi hurried over to a small round terminal. "Here's the computer terminal," he said, and motioned for the droid to come over.

Artoo Detoo came over and connected to the computer terminal and began beeping as he absorbed information. Kenobi pulled Luke over to him. "Do not wait for me," he said. "Once the tractor beam is down, escape."

"What about you?" Luke asked.

"Your destiny lies along a different path than mine. Get these droids to the rebels. They're our only hope…and trust your new friends. Help them get back to their own galaxy if there is a way."

Luke nodded. He did not argue with Kenobi as he was looking at the layout of the ship. Kenobi looked at him. "The Force will be with you…Always," he said and went out the door.

Jim, Spock, and Bones could see that Luke was troubled about his mentor leaving like that. Then the Wookiee growled something. "You can say that again," Solo blurted. "Where did you dig up that old fossil?"

Bones glared at him. "You know, you could have a little more courtesy and respect!" he said. "You could be lying dead in your ship, or be a prisoner right now if not for his help!"

"Help? You call this help? We're stuck here in this space station."

"Yeah, and he's risking his life to try and help you get out of it!" Jim declared. "You sure have a funny way of showing gratitude!"

"As we have seen, there are those who never realize that they need other people," Spock said. "Until it is too late, and they find themselves alone with no friends."

Just then, the droid who was connected to the terminal began beeping wildly. "What's wrong?" Luke asked.

"He is saying I've found her, and keeps repeating she's here, she's here," Threepio, the golden droid said.

"Who has he found? Who's here?"

"The princess."

"Princess?"

"What princess?" Jim asked. "What is he talking about?"

Luke looked at him. "She must be the one in the message that sent the droids," he said. "We have to help her."

"Wait a minute!" Solo interrupted. "What do you mean?"

"Where is she?" Luke asked, turning back to the droid.

"She's in the detention area," Threepio said.

"The detention area!?" Solo exclaimed.

"The Brig," Bones said quietly as he looked at Jim. "Can you imagine how much security is down there? We can't go down there after her."

"I agree!"

"Bones, we can't just leave her there," Jim declared. "What we need is a plan. Someone needs to stay with the ship to have it ready to go when we all get back here."

"And just who might that be?" Solo asked. "This is my ship."

"Right. So you should stay here and get it ready to leave when we all get aboard."

"You're saying you're gonna leave me here?"

"I thought you didn't want to go with us. You have a hard time making up your mind, don't you?"

"We do not have time for this argument," Spock said. "Captain, if we are to rescue this princess, we must move now before Kenobi makes his move. Otherwise, they will be aware that someone is trying to get the ship free."

"Right. I want someone to find the controls for those shields too," Jim replied. "Spock, you and Bones need to do that. If something goes wrong, they can always beam us back to the Enterprise if the shields are down."

"Jim, we don't know anything about this…thing!" Bones declared. "You're sending us creeping around this horror?"

"Bones, we have to do something. If they can beam us back to the Enterprise, we'll have a better chance of surviving."

"I hate this."

"I know you do. I'm going with Luke to the detention area while the two of you find those controls for the shields." Jim looked at Solo. "I need your armor."

"Gladly," Solo replied.

Bones and Spock looked at the layout of the space station, and could see where the controls for the shields were. "I suggest we attempt to find a disguise as well," Spock said.

"Where do we get something like that?" Bones asked. "This is just crazy."

"Come along, Doctor."

Spock looked at Jim. "Good luck," Jim said.

"To you as well, Jim," Spock replied.

Spock and Bones left the room they were in and sneaked down the next corridor. "You think they have access tubes?" Bones whispered.

"We do not have time to investigate that possibility," Spock replied.

"Then how do we get down there?"

"We stay out of sight. As you have noticed there is not a great deal of security aboard this space station because of their confidence in its ability to defend against anything that might threaten."

"I'd say they're probably right. I never saw anything like this."

"Nor have I."

Jim and Luke left their hiding place dressed in their armor while Han Solo and the Wookiee watched them. The two droids went back aboard the Falcon along with them. "You think they'll make it back?" Solo asked.

The Wookiee replied, and Threepio knew what he said, and he had no confidence at all that the others would make it back. That meant that Threepio and Artoo would have to depend on them to get to the right place if the others did not make it back. "Might be a big reward for that," Han said. "Not that I care whether they get there or not."

The Wookiee replied something else, which was to remind Han that they had escaped from the Empire in times past, and Chewie would be more than happy to see the Empire go down since they made slaves of Wookiees. "Yeah, I know, Pal," Han said. "But we don't have to risk our lives to help them. We'll deliver these droids if we get out of here, and that's it."

The Wookiee growled something else. "I don't want to go and help them get into the detention area," Han declared. "No matter how much reward there is for rescuing a princess."

Threepio could not understand humans at times, but he thought this one was more confusing than any he had ever seen. He said one thing, but seemed to mean the opposite.

Jim and Luke walked down the corridor as though they were on their way somewhere. "I hope they don't ask us where we're going," Luke said.

"Just act like you belong here," Jim replied. "No idle chatter." Jim could plainly see how the stormtroopers acted. He knew strict military protocol when he saw it. "Just follow my lead."

"Yes sir."

They came to a turbo lift…or Jim wondered if that was what they called it. He stood at attention on one side and Luke stood on the other side. Luke was definitely not versed in proper protocol for being at attention as he appeared to be impatient while he waited. "Stand still!" Jim whispered. He knew he would draw attention to himself if he kept that up.

Luke stood still then and looked straight ahead. The lift finally opened, and they went inside. "I thought they were going to notice us," Luke said.

"They will if you don't start acting like a stormtrooper," Jim replied. "You can't look impatient or like you don't know where you're going. There seems to be a lot of fear around this place. Now stand at attention. Feet together, shoulders up, looking straight ahead!"

Luke did what he was told. He could definitely see that Jim Kirk was used to being in charge and telling others what to do. "When we get in there, we can expect a lot of questions," Jim said. "We'll just have to make something up."

"Right," Luke agreed. "I'll just let you do that. Then what do we do?"

"We improvise."

"Improvise?"

"Yeah."

Luke swallowed hard. He hoped this captain knew what he was doing, but he seemed to be unafraid to go into dangerous situations. The lift doors opened and they walked out right into the detention area. Luke's heart suddenly jumped up into his throat, but he stood at attention.

"What are you doing here?" the one at the control center asked.

"They thought there should be more security down here because of the princess," Jim answered. "The rebels have escaped from their ship, and may try to rescue her."

"I wasn't notified of any extra security."

"There's a lot going on. They don't have time to send a memo about every little thing. We have intruders on the space station, and they're being hunted down even as we speak."

Luke thought Kirk sounded like any other stormtrooper he had met up with and he spoke with confidence. The commander was taken aback by this trooper's confidence. "What's your badge number?" he asked. "You will speak with respect when talking to me."

"I speak with nothing else," Jim replied. He was holding a blaster and he was ready to use it if this one got too curious. He could see the location of the cameras around the area as well.

Luke thought the silence made the situation even more tense, but then, the lift doors opened again, and suddenly, there was a loud Wookiee roar. Jim and Luke dove to the side as Chewie and Han barged out of the lift and began firing. Jim aimed at the cameras so that others could not see what was happening there, and Luke followed suit. Han and Chewie took care of the guards and the overzealous commander.

When all that was over, there was an eerie silence except for a beeping sound that went along with a flashing red light. "Get down there and get that princess out!" Han yelled and told Luke which cell she was in.

Jim took the stormtrooper helmet off. "I thought you were staying with the ship!" he declared.

"Yeah, well I changed my mind!" Han replied. He pressed the red button that was screeching for his attention.

Jim did not like insubordination, but he had to remember that Solo was not part of his crew. He took out his communicator. "Spock," he said. "You read me?"

"Yes, Captain," Spock answered.

"You found those controls yet?"

"We are in the corridor that leads into the control room. However, I believe you have drawn more attention."

"Yeah. Tell me about it. We're about to get this princess out of here."

As Jim was talking, he saw Han Solo fire his blaster at the com system on the control board. "Luke, we're about to have company!" he yelled.

"Gotta go, Spock," Jim said into the communicator. "When you get those shields down, get back to the ship. We'll all meet there!"

"Yes, Captain," Spock replied.

Within moments, a troop of stormtroopers barged into the command area of the detention area. Jim, Han, and the Wookiee barely escaped being shot as they had to flee into the corridor where Luke was now coming that way with the Princess. "Can't get out that way!" Han declared.

"Only because you didn't say the right thing!" Jim said.

"Maybe you could have done better, Mister Captain!"

"Maybe I could have!"

"We don't have time for this egotistical debate!" the princess declared. "You came in here, but you didn't have a plan for getting out?"

"We didn't intend to get into a firefight in the front corridor of this place!" Jim said.

"Give me that," the princess demanded and grabbed Solo's blaster. She fired and blasted a large hold in a panel in the wall of the corridor. "Into the garbage chute, fly boy!"

From the smell that came wafting out of that hole, Jim thought he could tell this was the garbage chute. The princess jumped through the hole and disappeared. He thought she must surely know where she was going, so he jumped in after her. He landed in a pile of garbage which was mostly metal junk, but at the bottom of it was fowl-smelling mucky water that Jim could only wonder where it came from. He got out of the way just in time as Luke came sliding down the chute, and then the Wookiee.

The Wookiee seemed to be afraid and got up to the highest part of it. "Give me that blaster!" the princess demanded.

Jim gave it to her and she shot at the exit of the place, but the shot deflected and bounced around the metal room they were in, barely missing them until it ran out of energy. "Well, so much for that idea," she said.

Jim had never seen a princess quite like this one. She did not seem to care that she was standing in a pile of garbage in her white outfit, which was not all that white anymore, and her elaborate hairstyle was not so perfect anymore either.

They heard a whoop as Han Solo came sliding into the muck. He groaned as he stood up, and the grabbed his nose. "What an incredible smell you've discovered!" he declared. He aimed at the door as he told the Wookiee to move.

"Wait!" the princess yelled.

But it was too late. Another laser blast ricocheted its way around the garbage pile. Jim stood up again after that. "We've already tried that!" the princess yelled.

Jim listened to the banter between them, but he got his communicator. "Spock!"

"Yes, Captain," Spock answered.

"Do you have those shields down yet?"

"We…ran into some problems, Captain. However, we are undamaged. We have managed to get into the control room now."

"We're out of the detention area, but we're in a…garbage disposal unit!"

"Do you need help, Captain?"

Just then, Jim and the others heard a loud squeak of metallic equipment, and then a grinding sound. "Captain?" Spock said.

Luke was talking to the droid trying to find out how they could get out. "All systems have been alerted to your presence, Sir!" Threepio said.

Suddenly, the walls of the trash compactor began to slide inward. Jim's mouth dropped open as he realized what was happening. "Spock!" he yelled. "They're compacting the garbage! With us in it!"

"Threepio!" Luke was yelling. "Threepio!"

Bones and Spock looked at each other. "We must help the captain," Spock said. He deactivated the shields of the space station, and then disabled them so that they could not be easily reactivated.

Once the shields were down, Spock grabbed his communicator. "Mister Scott!" he said.

Scotty was surprised to hear Spock's voice on the intercom. "Yes!" he said.

"Mister Scott, can you get a lock on the captain?"

"Hold on, Sir!"

Scotty ran to the transporter room to look at that himself. "I'm getting a reading, Sir," he said.

"Can you beam him out?" Spock asked. "He is in danger as well as the others who are with him."

"I can get a lock on you and the doctor. There's a lot of interference at the captain's location. I can't get a lock on him."

"Beam us to the Enterprise! We will attempt to rescue the captain and the others from there!"

Spock and Bones were soon on the Enterprise. "The shields are down, so there should be a way to get them off that space station," Spock declared. He hurried to the Bridge.

Jim was starting to think he was going to be compacted into a pancake. "Spock!" he yelled into the communicator.

"We are attempting to beam you to the Enterprise, Captain," Spock replied.

"What about the others?"

Spock could hear that the captain's voice was strained. "Captain, are you alright?"

Jim did not answer as the situation was getting tight and he was concentrating on breathing. Was this how he would die? In a trash compactor on a giant space station in a strange galaxy? He could hear Luke Skywalker still talking into his communicator. "NO! Shut them all down!" he yelled.

Suddenly, the trash compactor came to a screeching halt, and then the walls widened, and the door opened. Jim gasped a moment, but then followed them out of the place. He leaned on his knees a moment getting his breath back. "Captain, we have a lock on you now," Spock said over the communicator.

Jim looked at the others. "They can beam us out of here right now," he said. "Just take my hand."

"No!" Han Solo argued. "I'm not leaving my ship on this thing!"

"You can't risk going back there! They'll be looking for all of us!"

"What do you mean _beam_ us out of here?" the princess asked.

Jim realized they had no idea what a transporter was. "Uh…well, just trust me," he said. "We'll disappear from here and then we'll be on my ship, the Enterprise."

"Wait!" Luke interrupted. "What about Ben and the droids? We can't just leave them here?"

"He's right," the princess agreed.

Jim blew out a breath. "We can't beam out, Spock," he said. "We have to get the droids and Kenobi."

"Let us know when you are ready, Captain."

Jim looked at the others with him. "This way," the princess said. "Will somebody get this big walking carpet out of my way?"

Jim thought she was just as insulting as the cocky captain of the Falcon. He hoped she knew where she was going, but as they went around another corner in the corridor, they met up with a group of storm troopers. "We'll take care of them!" Solo declared. "Get to the ship!" He and the Wookiee ran toward the troopers firing as they went.

"He certainly has courage," the princess said.

"Or stupidity!" Jim replied.

"How did you get into this?"

"It's a long story, but I suggest we don't stand here gabbing about it. You two find a way to the ship. I'm going after them."

Jim went around the way that Solo and the Wookiee had gone, and met them on the way back, and turned down another corridor with them as they were being pursued by a troop.

After winding through corridors for several minutes, Jim, Solo, and Chewie finally came to the dock where the Falcon was sitting, and they could see it through the windows. A few seconds later, the princess and Luke arrived. "What took you so long?" Solo asked.

"We ran into some old friends," she answered as she was looking out at the ship. "You came here in that thing? You're braver than I thought."

Jim rolled his eyes at that comment. "Let's just go!" he said.

They ran around the corridor that led into the docking bay, and suddenly, the troopers that had been guarding the Falcon were moving away as though they were watching something. "I guess that's our cue," Solo said.

They all ran out, heading toward the Falcon that was not being held there anymore…if Ben got the tractor beam out of commission. As they were almost to the ship, they saw what the troopers were so interested in. Jim could see Ben with a lightsaber, and he was having a duel with someone dressed in black, including a helmet almost like that of the storm troopers, but it seemed to be more menacing. How would they get Ben out now?

Ben suddenly looked toward Luke, and then closed his eyes and bowed his head as he stood and let Vader cut him in half…or did he? Jim thought it looked like he only cut a robe, but he heard Luke scream, "NO!"

"Blast the door!" Solo yelled as he saw that the horror dressed in black was coming that way now.

Jim aimed at the door himself, but he also fired at the troopers. "Come on, Luke!" the princess yelled. "It's too late!"

Jim and Luke ran up the boarding ramp, and Solo was already in the pilot's seat. "I sure hope that old man got that tractor beam down!" Solo declared.

Jim just stood there a moment thinking about what he just saw. "Was that Darth Vader?" he asked. "The one he talked about?"

"Yeah!" Solo answered. "You better strap yourself in."

They easily got out of the docking bay and they were on their way. Jim sat down and put on the belt. "Captain!" Spock said over the communicator.

"Yeah," Jim answered.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes, Spock. I'm fine."

Suddenly, the Falcon was hit with fire from a tie fighter. "Get into the gun turret!" Solo said to Jim. "We're not out of this yet!"

Jim ran to the back of the ship. "Where are the gun turrets?" he asked and was almost knocked off his feet.

The Enterprise was moving that way, and took out one of the tie fighters itself. "They have very weak shielding," Sulu declared.

There were three more tie fighters and two of them decided to take on the Enterprise. "They may have weak shielding, but they have powerful weapons," Sulu declared.

"Fire at will!" Spock said.

They soon had taken care of the tie fighters and followed the Falcon away from the Death Star. "I'm transmitting coordinates to you now," Solo said. "We're about to jump to lightspeed."

They were soon on their way to another secret location where the Rebellion was waiting to see what they would do next. Jim breathed a sigh of relief as he sat down in the galley. Luke sat down too, looking very sad. Jim knew how he felt…just as badly as he had felt when Pike died. He was not sure what to say. "He seemed to want you to get out of there," Jim said.

"I don't know what to do next," Luke replied. "I don't have anything now."

"You can use that Force, right?"

"Yeah. He said I would be a Jedi. I don't know what that means. Without him to show me how to be a Jedi, how can I do that?"

"Well, I don't know, but we have to stop that space station somehow."

The princess came in there. Jim thought she looked very young too, probably no older than Luke. She had long, brown hair, and brown eyes that looked wise beyond her years, and she had a determination like Jim had not seen in anyone as young as she.

"Thank you for your help," she said to Jim.

"You're welcome," Jim replied.

"You don't seem to be part of this crew here. Who are you?"

"I'm Jim Kirk. I'm not part of this crew. My ship is the Enterprise, and we've…been thrown into the middle of this just by chance. We were transported to this galaxy through a rift. We came from a galaxy far from here."

"You're lost."

Jim nodded. "But we'll do what we can to help you stop that space station."

"And we'll help you get home if we can. I'm Leia Organa."

"They call you princess."

"I was a princess, but my planet has been destroyed."

"You mean…Alderaan?"

Jim could see the sadness in her eyes, but then her determination returned. "We have to focus on our mission," she said. "We do not have time for sorrows right now."

"What is your mission?" Jim asked.

"To get those Death Star plans to our scientists so they can find a weakness in that space station."

"You're going to attack it?"

"Yes. If we can find a weakness, we're going to destroy it."

Jim figured they would do just that if everyone in this outfit was as determined as this woman. He could hardly wait to meet them.


	4. Chapter 4

Jim was halfway dozing when they came out of lightspeed at their destination. He could see a huge, orange gas giant, but that was not where they were going. They were going to a small moon that orbited the giant…Yavin IV. The Enterprise was there also, and it stopped in orbit. Jim was glad to get off the Falcon. It had been a rough ride when they were escaping that Death Star. He stood there a moment as he felt just a little dizzy.

"Come on," Princess Leia said.

Jim went with her and the others and they met the leaders of the Rebellion, who were all glad to see Leia come back. She explained to them that the plans for the Death Star were hidden in Artoo-Detoo. "Let's just hope a weakness can be found," she said.

"We'll get on that right away," someone else replied.

"Jim Kirk, I'd like you to meet General Iblis," Leia said.

Jim shook hands with the general. "Pleased to meet you, Sir," he said.

"Kirk is the captain of a star ship, and they're willing to help us."

"That's wonderful," Iblis said.

"They're also lost, General. We must find a way to help them get back to their own galaxy."

"Galaxy? You're from another galaxy?"

"Yes," Jim answered. "We got here through a rift in space."

"Ah. I've heard of those. It is puzzling how they appear, however. It may be possible to open one if we knew what caused them."

"Are you saying it's hopeless?"

"No, but right now, we must prepare for this battle."

"He's right," Leia agreed. "They had to be tracking the ship. That Death Star will be here. You can bet on that."

"They're gonna come here to destroy all of you at once," Jim said. "Are you sure you can beat them? Shouldn't you evacuate?"

"We're not running. Do you know how many died to bring us that information? We won't let them die in vain. Come. I'll introduce you to our leader."

Just then, Jim's communicator beeped. "Excuse me," he said. He took the communicator out. "Kirk here."

"Captain, what is your plan?" Spock asked.

"I'm not sure right now, Spock. They're certain that the Death Star is going to show up here and try to destroy this moon to wipe them all out at once."

"It is logical. Captain, Mister Scott is analyzing the data we collected about the rift, and he believes we may be able to open another ourselves."

"Good. Keep working on that. I'm gonna listen to their plans here. We'll help them if we can."

"Yes, Captain. I believe we should do what we can. No one has the right to destroy a planet."

"The princess was from that planet that was destroyed."

Spock was silent a moment. "And there are not many left, I assume," he said finally.

"I guess not. Billions of people. I saw this Darth Vader. I don't think he's someone we want to tangle with. He killed Kenobi."

"He must be stopped."

"I agree. I'll contact you later. Let me know if Scotty has any breakthroughs, and let me know if that Death Star shows up."

"Yes, Captain."

"Kirk out."

Jim put his communicator away, and then followed Princess Leia, Luke, and the general to another room in the place, which looked a lot like a cave, but it looked like it had been inhabited in the past. There was a woman there who looked every bit as confident as Leia, but Jim could see the grief on her face with the situation, but also her determination. "Mon Mothma," Leia said. "This is Luke Skywalker, and Captain Jim Kirk."

"Welcome," Mon Mothma said with a slight bow of her head. She had a quiet voice, but when she spoke, one wanted to listen to what she had to say.

"They helped me escape the Death Star," Leia said.

"Then we owe you a great debt of gratitude."

"I'm glad I could help," Jim replied.

"Me too," Luke agreed.

"They risked their lives," Leia went on. "And now, they wish to help us. Captain Kirk has a ship of his own. I have not seen it but he assures me that it is quite a formidable foe. He also has technicians who might be able to enhance the weapons on our fighters."

Jim thought Mon Mothma seemed a bit overwhelmed with that statement. "We appreciate any help you can provide," she said in her quiet way.

"We'll do what we can," Jim replied. "I hope you're working fast so you'll be ready if they show up."

"We are."

"I'll get my people busy, and they'll let us know if anything drops out of w…hyperspace out there."

Jim turned to leave and took out his communicator as he went. Luke followed him. "Hey, wait a minute," Luke said. "What can I do to help?"

"I'm not sure right now," Jim replied. "You should stay with them and find out what they need you to do."

"You're trying to help people you don't even know…in a galaxy that you don't even belong in."

"We're all in this together. Something this evil shouldn't be allowed to continue."

"I'm afraid it won't be over just by destroying that space station."

"I'm sure it won't, but as long as there are those who keep fighting, things can get better."

"I just wish Ben were here to see it."

"I understand, but you have to find your own place in the galaxy, and figure out where you stand. Not just because someone else thinks it's right, but because you do."

Luke nodded. "If there's anything I can do to help you, just let me know."

"Thanks."

Jim walked on as Luke ran back into the command center. "Spock," he said over the communicator.

"Yes, Captain," Spock answered.

"I want Mister Scott to see if he can help enhance their weapons and shields. You should see this. They're fighting against an advanced government regime in old ships that most likely don't have as many weapons modifications as theirs."

"I will inform him."

"Anything showing up out there yet?"

"No."

"Good. We've got time. Transport Mister Scott down here."

"Yes, Captain."

When Scotty arrived, Jim introduced him to Leia and the others who were in charge, and they were taken to the hangar where all the ships were stored. He saw that the Falcon was still there, but Han Solo was loading stuff into the ship. Jim went over to him. "What are you doing?" he asked.

"I'm loading my reward," Solo answered.

"You mean you're not even going to help them?"

"I don't have to help them. I'm only obligated to one person, and that's me!"

"Must be a lonely existence. You're a great pilot, and you live in this galaxy. How long do you think you can keep doing what you want if that Empire wins this battle?"

"As long as I can stay ahead of them! Now, if you didn't want anything else, excuse me, cause I want to get out of here before this moon is blown to bits."

"Yeah, we wouldn't want the galaxy to lose any arrogant jerks."

Jim walked on. How could anyone be so selfish? He supposed he had been selfish before, but he had learned that he could not care only for himself.

Scotty was analyzing the ships when Jim walked up to him. "You think you can do anything?" Jim asked.

"Not much, Captain," Scotty replied. "I might could make the shields a little stronger, but I don't think I can enhance the weapons."

"Do what you can."

Jim stood there a moment thinking as he looked around that hangar at the ships. There were not that many, but with the morale around the place, one would think they were a flourishing army. He supposed that came with believing in what one was fighting for. No matter how dire the circumstances seemed, you could still find hope.

Later that day, there was a meeting and Jim was invited to attend. They had actually found a weakness in the Death Star that would allow them to destroy it, but it would not be easy. He had also been informed that the Death Star was orbiting Yavin, and would be coming into firing range later.

Jim had sent Scotty back to the Enterprise after he had done what he could to enhance the shields, and had taught the technicians there how to do it so that they could work on more than one at a time. He would be going back to the Enterprise to help them with this battle. He had promised the rebels that they would do what they could, and they would provide backup. However, he would not get the Enterprise destroyed by that monstrosity. He had learned the reason that the rebels intended to attack with small fighters, and that was because the death star was more of a long range attacker, and if they skimmed the surface, it would have a hard time deterring them, and one of the fighters would fly along a trench to fire a torpedo into a small opening that would cause a chain reaction in the core to destroy the whole space station.

Jim blew out a breath as he listened to that plan. Some were not very confident in the plan, but others were. Even Luke Skywalker would be flying a fighter…an X-Wing. Jim knew no one should underestimate a person just because they were young. No one had had much confidence in him when he was young, and he supposed they had good reason, but when it came down to it, he could figure out what to do.

When the meeting was over, Jim walked outside and took out his communicator. This battle had to get started because otherwise, the Death Star would destroy the moon. He started to call the Enterprise…

"Captain Kirk!" someone called.

Jim looked around to see Luke coming that way. "Are you leaving?" he asked.

"I'm going to my ship," Jim replied. "Don't worry. I won't be far away."

"Can I watch?"

"Sure." Jim opened his communicator. "Beam me up, Mister Scott."

Jim looked at Luke and smiled. "Good luck," he said as a swirl of light enveloped him.

Luke stood there a moment, amazed that the captain had just disappeared. "Wow," he said and hurried on into the hangar. He would be flying an X-Wing…Red Five.

Jim appeared on the transporter pad on the Enterprise, and he could not deny that he was glad to be there. Spock was waiting for him. "Captain, Mister Scott has analyzed the information about the rift," he said. "He believes he can open a rift that will take us back to our galaxy."

Jim nodded. "Good. Right now, we're sticking around here for a while to try and help them if we can."

"Yes, Captain. The Death Star is approaching them, and I am not certain that they can destroy it in time. It has strong defenses and shields."

"I realize that, but they have a plan. That's why they're using the smaller fighters. The Death Star has a hard time deterring small fighters like that."

"Perhaps their plan will work."

"Trouble is, they have to get a torpedo down this…hole. It's like the time we were hurling toward that dreadnaught and had to hit this…" Jim looked at Spock. "It's gonna take perfect aim."

"At least they will have tried, even if they fail."

"If they do fail, we're gonna see what we can do. The Enterprise can aim a lot more precisely than one of those."

Jim was sitting in the Captain's chair when he saw the fighters come up from the moon, racing off into battle, knowing that they might not return. "Turn us about, Mister Sulu," Jim said. "Let's go after them, but we're not gonna get real close until we see how we can help."

Jim also saw the Millennium Falcon come up from the moon. He supposed he could not blame Solo for not wanting to get killed in a hopeless battle, but he was not sure it was so hopeless. They had a plan.

As the battle progressed, Jim could see that many rebel ships were destroyed. They had destroyed some of the tie fighters, and had taken some fire from them, but the Enterprise had strong shields.

"Fire at will!" Jim exclaimed as a barrage of tie fighters came at them. They passed by, and the ship shook as they fired at the Enterprise. However, they did not fire again as they were vaporized in space by the Enterprise's phasers.

"Fire a torpedo at the shield generator on that Death Star!" Jim commanded. "If we keep firing, we might get through the shields enough to destroy the generator."

They encountered more tie fighters as they got closer to the Death Star. "Captain, we should be careful not to get into the line of fire from the main assault weapon," Spock said.

"We're ready to fire, Captain," Sulu said.

"Fire!" Jim ordered.

They watched as the torpedoes exploded on the shields, but then one of the torpedoes went through and made quite a crater in the side of the death star. "Fire again!" Jim yelled.

Luke Skywalker was in the trench that led to the portal that he had to fire the missile through, and he was followed by two others. "Just keep those fighters back," he said, but then he heard something that sounded almost like a whisper… _Use the Force, Luke._

Jim saw the three tie fighters that were about to attack the fighters in the trench. "Aim phasers at them!" he said.

The phasers took out one of the tie fighters, and Jim realized these tie fighters were not like the ones they had been fighting. The one in the middle, especially. It was not even the same color, and it looked like it was enhanced a great deal. Whoever was piloting it dodged around their phaser fire as well, and continued on his track to stop the fighters in the trench.

"Captain, we can't fire at them from here," Sulu said. "We'll risk hitting the fighters."

Jim was thinking. He thought they might have done all they could do. However, just as he thought that, another ship appeared seemingly out of nowhere, and it was the Falcon. It turned at an impossible angle and took the tie fighters completely by surprise.

"Clear the Death Star!" someone shouted over the intercom. "The target has been hit!"

"Get us out of here!" Jim said. "That thing's gonna explode!"

The Enterprise and all the other fighters who were left rocketed away from the Death Star, and just as it was coming into range of the moon, it exploded in a brilliant light of particles. Jim and his crew just watched a moment.

"It worked," Sulu said and looked at Jim.

"I guess that shows you what team work can do," Jim replied. "Mister Scott?"

"Yes, Captain," Scotty answered.

"You ready to try that rift?"

"Yes sir. I think we're ready."

"Then I guess it's time we get out of here and let them enjoy their victory. Uhura, hail them."

Princess Leia appeared on the viewscreen, and she looked ecstatic. "Thank you so much for your help," she said.

"You're welcome, but we think we've found a way back to our own galaxy," Jim replied. "Good luck."

"Good luck to you as well. Is there anything we can help you with?"

"No. I'm glad we could meet all of you."

"Have a safe journey."

"Thanks. Kirk out."

The transmission ended, and the Enterprise moved away from the gas giant and would have to travel back to where they had shown up there in that galaxy. It took them six days to get there, so Scotty had plenty of time to perfect his idea of opening a rift using the warp drive.

"Okay, Mister Scott, let's try this," Jim said as they were once again on the other side of Tatooine.

"Jim, what if we end up somewhere on the other side of the universe even further away than we are now?" Bones asked.

"We have to try, Bones."

"I just hope none of us come down with some virus we picked up here and there's no cure for it in our galaxy."

"Go ahead, Mister Scott," Jim said as he shook his head with amusement at Bones.

Scotty fired and they watched as a rift opened that looked just like the one they had seen before. "Get us in there, Sulu," Jim said.

Sulu did not have to go far because the rift pulled them in the rest of the way…and they came out on the other side. "Where are we?" Jim asked.

"We're right back where we were before," Sulu replied with relief. He looked at Jim. "We're home."

Jim sat down. "Take us to Yorktown. I think we deserve some shore leave."

"Yes, Sir."


End file.
